Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer emphasized that the company is well-positioned with ample runway and resources at its disposal.
The developer of the Avalanche Blockchain, Ava Labs, has verified that in a recent round of staff reductions, it terminated 12% of its workforce, citing the need to reallocate resources.
Emin Gün Sirer, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, verified the news on Nov. 7, following the layoff announcements of several former Ava Labs employees on X (formerly Twitter).
Gün Sirer stated, “This reduction in force affected 12% of Ava Labs, and allows us to reallocate resources to double down on the growth of our firm and the Avalanche ecosystem.”
Bear markets can be difficult to navigate, according to Gün Sirer, but Ava Labs is well-positioned with ample runway and resources at its disposal.
LinkedIn lists 335 employees at Ava Labs, indicating that approximately 40 individuals were affected.
Garrison Yang, vice president of growth and strategy at Ava Labs, pointed to the source of a significant portion of the reductions being the marketing department.
Zach Manafort, a former member of the game growth marketing team, was among those who disclosed his layoff in an Oct. 6 post on X.
His departure occurs notwithstanding his active participation in the Avalanche community since 2020.
The layoffs took aback Manafort, as he had anticipated that “things were just getting started.”
Additionally, Brandon Suzuki, a former employee of the marketing division at Ava Labs, affirmed his own termination on Oct. 6.
The most recent round of layoffs happens barely days after nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea reduced its workforce by 50% on Nov. 3.
Neil Dundon, the founder of CryptoRecruit, told Cointelegraph that despite the recent increase in the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies, job openings remain scarce in the industry.
“The Crypto market is still very tough unfortunately right now. Money is tight. VC has dried up.”
Dundon stated that additional indicators of a bull market are required prior to a significant increase in employment once more.
“This is how it has always behaved and it’s no different this time around.”
Conversely, the proprietors of Proof of Search and Cryptocurrency Jobs, Kevin Gibson and Daniel Adler, respectively, informed Cointelegraph that they have observed a marginal upswing in recruitment activities in recent weeks.
Gibson ascribed this phenomenon to cryptocurrency firms operating under the presumption that if market conditions strengthen in 2024, they might be unable to access the talent pool. His further statement was:
“It is still an employer’s market so we are encouraging companies to take advantage of this to keep building as it will be very different in 2024.”
Gibson observed that certain positions in question operated for a maximum of two to three days per week, as opposed to being full-time.
Adler expressed a comparable viewpoint:
“As we’re approaching the end of the year, teams are doing a final hiring push and following through on their hiring plans and roadmap.”
